Page 41 - AdNews Magazine Jan-Feb 2021

their market research and revisited their brands so the public is likely going to see some fresh looks in 2021. There are also a bunch of pitches on right now so I suspect that in a couple of months we’ll be seeing a realignment of brands and agencies.
What I think we’ll be seeing LESS of is cheesy, cheap production and animation. COVID made this stuff necessary due to the restrictions of lockdown but hopefully that’s all in the past now. My best guess is that strong brands are going to get back into high production values, glossy treatments and big ideas.
Vikki Friscic, managing director, Carat Adelaide
How would you describe the Adelaide advertising market?
The Adelaide market is quite unique. Pitches are rare and clients generally will stay with the same agency for several years after establishing strong working relationships. It is imperative as an agency in this market that you can deliver the same quality of work as agencies on the eastern seaboard.
What sets it apart from other cities?
Adelaide agencies, clients and media partners have a collaborative mindset. Our clients see us as an extension of their team, and we are grateful to be able to work side by side with them.
The role of a marketing director has diversified so much over the past few years and they rely on their media, creative and PR agencies to work together with them to achieve their goals.
Carat Adelaide has strong relationships with several creative agencies in this market which enables us to provide clients with a complete creative and media solution.
How have you seen market spend change over the last year
with the pandemic?
Like most agencies we saw a dramatic decline in spend across late March and April while clients developed business strategies to cope with the government-imposed restrictions. Many of our clients quickly evolved their business and we worked closely with them to create media solutions to reach the ever-changing consumer. From July we saw the media spend for most of our clients return to pre-pandemic levels, however, lead times are
Tourism NT by KWP! Jarvis Marketing/OMD for Drakes. KWP! Adelaide’s work for Code Read.
THE FRUSTRATION
still short with most clients only approving media spends for a month or two at a time.
What are the big trends you are seeing from advertisers in the market going into 2021?
Our clients are continually looking at their consumer journey and the ways they connect with their con- sumer/customer. They know their consumer is not the same person they were 12 months ago. Their lifestyle has changed, their work life has changed, and their media consumption habits have changed.
Every consumer has a unique journey and our media strategy needs to be able to cater for per- sonalised messaging and custom- ised targeting. Content and part- nerships are more important than ever with advertisers wanting to align their brand with trusted, eth- ical, and authentic channels. Ecommerce will also continue to be a major focus for clients in 2021.
David O’Loughlin,
CEO, KWP
How would you describe the Adelaide advertising market? The Adelaide market is distinctive in that Adelaideans are both paro- chial yet do not suffer fools lightly. They are loyal but will also quickly cry foul at the slightest hint of dis- ingenuity. For the advertising mar- ket that means two things. Firstly that Adelaide agencies focused on customer experience (as KWP is) must remain more consistent when it comes to a brand’s promise. But it also means that we must remain decidedly current and highly crea- tive in how we express those brand promises resisting the inertia to sometimes take the homogeneous or safe view. For agencies with national business like KWP, the opportunity to apply the same level of insight around local nuances is certainly there. I think agencies from smaller markets are some- times uniquely placed to do that better, simply because we must.
What sets it apart from other cities?
The size and scale of Adelaide fosters creativity and ingenuity – we have to regularly do more with less. In Adelaide, we have the opportunity to build strong relationships and
OF DYSLEXIA
IS OFTEN UNREAD.
Learn more at codereadnetwork.org
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